China and India EB2 May Become Current by May 2001
Posted Mar 23, 2001

Mr. Charles Oppenheim, Chief of the Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division at the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Visa Office, is predicting rapid advances in both the employment based second preference (EB2) and the employment based third preference (EB3) on the Visa Bulletin Chart for China and India. Mr. Oppenheim is the DOS official in charge of deciding what dates should appear on each month's chart. That decision is made based upon a complex calculation considering the number of permanent residency cases approved at Consulates and at INS offices, as compared with the number of visas available.

According to Mr. Oppenheim, EB2 for both India and China could become current as early as May or June 2001! EB3 numbers are likely to move forward about four months each month, and could very well become current by early next year, possibly around January 2002. Of course, there are no guarantees here. Sudden and unexpected increases in demand for visas could slow the pace of forward movement.